Review: Kate's Caring Gifts

This yummy review is thanks to Kate from Kate’s Caring Gifts. Last month she sent us one of the Make Your Own Chocolate kits regularly sold on her website to try out and give our opinion on. Since my daughter's birthday was coming up in a few weeks, I asked Kate if she minded me saving the kit until this month giving me a chance to have several girls do it together. She was very gracious and said "yes".

I will say now that I give the Make Your Own Chocolate kit a very big thumbs up on many different levels. As a homeschooler, I can use this kit to help teach not only a very yummy Science experiment but also culture, history, and the impact of what we buy and where we buy it from has on people’s lives. The instructions and stories that are included with the kit are so thorough that you could easily use this one single kit to form an entire unit study around South American studies and life.

This kit also makes a great consumable gift and party idea. If I were to recommend ages, I would say 11 and over for party use and any age as a family project.

We used the kit when my daughter's friend spent the night to celebrate her 13th birthday. It was easy for the girls to understand, follow, and succeed at with very little parental help at all. I think the only thing I had to do was help them decide when to put in the chocolate crystals and then I just made sure the goofballs didn’t mess up my kitchen too much! Everything else was easily handled by the girls and the results were fantastic.

What the girls ended up with were about 12 rich chocolatey little cups. You know the kind you can only eat a few of at a time? Oh yeah, THOSE ones. Let’s just say my first thought was “PMS’ing woman’s dream come true”. Yummmmy!

The Make Your Own Chocolate kit includes organic cocoa butter, chocolate starter crystals, confectioner’s sugar, paper candy liners, a thermometer indicator, the story of chocolate, and of course instructions. On the back of the instructions are several little cocoa facts and a story about a girl named "Lucia" and her family.

As a fun bonus, the company also includes two actual cocoa beans to try so you can experience what cocoa tastes like in pure form. Most children have never even seen an actual cocoa bean much less tasted one. I thought this was an excellent addition to include in the kit.

Kate’s motto is “People and Earth Friendly Gifts” but what she should also include is that many of the products she sells are educational as well. Besides the Make Your Own Chocolate Kit she also sells a Make Your Own Chewing Gum Kit, Make Your Own Gummy Kit, Adventure kits from ImagiPlay (wooden and hand painted), and much more. Plus, most products are organic so you can feel comfortable knowing what you are actually consuming when you eat, drink, or use these products.

To me, Kate’s Caring Gifts is a kind of one stop shop for the environmentally, economically, and socially aware shopper who is looking for chemical free and consumable gifts or products. With all the recent toy recalls it’s nice to know there is a site like this where you can find lead free and natural gifts for children and grown ups alike.

Thank you to Kate for allowing us to try out and review this kit. It was a lot of fun for the girls and something I will definitely be recommending to other parents who want to give something consumable for the holidays this year. Including myself!

EduToy Review- Noah's Pals

Sona Creidhe Reviews was lucky enough to have a chance to review several of the Noah's Pals line thanks to one of Caboodle's founders, Steve King. I say lucky enough because I was truly impressed with what I saw. We received the kangaroo set (Kevin & Karen), the skunk set (Steve & Shelly), the moose set (Murray & Megan), the deer set (Doug & Dawn), and Noah with the two doves (Derek & Delilah).

Each set (one male one female) comes with its very own species card telling you the kind of animal they are, their names, whether they are limited or unlimited editions, their habitat, where they can be found geographically. There is also a chart that lists their gender, length, height, the weight of the real animal, and the animal's footprint. On the back of each card is also a code that you can enter on their website to track your collection and even work towards earning your own Dylan & Danielle Dodo set.

How do you earn the now extinct pair? Just collect all 40 original Pals and the Dodo set will be shipped to you for free. When I say free I mean shipping is included so it costs you nothing at all. Yes, it's a collectible toy that actually rewards you for completing your collection. What a great concept!

Each Noah's Pal is beautifully sculpted to 1:24 scale and I would recommend them as both a child's toy and an enthusiast's collectible. One thing I noticed immediately about the animals was that they were way more detailed and sturdier than any plastic animals we've ever bought for MonkeyBoy. They are also lightweight (making them easy to carry around), handpainted, high quality, lead free, educational, and realistic (which is a must with little kids). MonkeyBoy liked how everything “matched up right” meaning each animal was to scale with the other animals. No huge skunks or mini-deer.

Price wise these sets are a very good deal. I found them on Amazon.com for anywhere from $2.98 for the skunks we got (Steve King's favorite) to around $20 for other animals. If interested, you can also purchase the wooden Ark for around $40-$50.

The only bad point I can think to share is that the doves and skunks are quite small so I would not recommend them for any child under 4 at the youngest. I definately would not have the smaller animals in the same house as an infant or toddler but all the normal sized animals should be fine.

The homeschooler in me loves the fact that we could use the animals in our studies. The Red Kangaroo set could be used with a unit on Australia or marsupials, the Moose could help with a unit on Canada, Dalmatian dogs could be used with a unit on fire safety/firefighters, seals could be used in a unit on the arctic, and the giraffes could be used for one on Africa. The possibilities are endless!

We plan on getting more Noah's Pals as soon as possible. In fact, I've already let family and friends know that these would make a great gift idea for my little guy for both his upcoming birthday and Christmas.

Mother Talk Review: What Mothers Do by Naomi Stadlen

When I chose to review What Mothers Do: Especially When It Looks Like Nothing by Naomi Stadlen for Mother Talk, I presumed it was a book talking about all the things we mothers do that nobody ever seems to notice. Maybe it talked about all the household things we do or the emotion that we put into our loved ones that they might not notice. I figured it was a book validating us as mothers and letting us know that we are valued.

Well not only did the book do that but much more. So much more that I will tell you now that What Mothers Do is going to be the book I give to expecting and new mothers from here on out. I wish someone had given me this book before or after any of my births!

What I enjoyed about this book is that you can tell Ms. Stadlen honestly believes in what she's written because it's not just a compilation of research that done over just a year or two. This is a book of thoughts, views, and time spent with mothers who are actually living in and have lived in those trying moment. Ms. Stadlen has taken fifteen years worth of working with women through her counseling, psychotherapy practice specializing in parenting, and time spent with her Mothers Talking group then put it into the pages of this book. This subject isn't just an interest for her but a deep part of who she is and what she believes as well.

I love how this book shares excerpts from new mothers talking about how overwelming and hard motherhood is with no sugar coating and no bull. It's real women admitting that sometimes being a mother is pure hell and just plain sucks. That is what soon to be mothers need to read about. They need to know that you're not always going to think your baby is wonderful because sometimes they are a little non-stop crying ball of rage that makes you cry for hours with them.

We prepare women to give birth but we never prepare them for what comes afterwards. Our society has a habit of abandoning the new mother and saying "Have fun doing it alone" while she is wondering just what it is she's suppose to do! Instead of giving support when it truly is needed the most, new mothers are left to fend for themselves and figure things out on their own. Sadly, our society is one of the very few in the world that does this going against nature in so many ways.

In my opinion, What Mothers Do: Especially When It Looks Like Nothing is primarily written for the expecting and new mother but those of us with older children can still enjoy the book as well because it is so very real. It's the kind of book that will make you say, "Oh yeah, I remember feeling that way" or "So it was okay for me to think that!" and no longer feel the need to apologize to ourselves or anyone else for those feelings.

Being a parent is the hardest job in the world and unfortunately it is made harder by the current attitude of our society towards raising children. Preparing people to be good parents doesn't rank as high as financial gain. Having support systems for new parents is considered a waste of time yet getting ahead in the corporate world is the be all end all. We are always ready to tell other parents what they are doing wrong or what we would do yet it's rare that we will compliment what they are doing right and encourage them.

Thankfully there is a book like this that new parents can read and learn from. A book that tells them it's okay to not be perfect because in truth none of us are. A book that shares the stories of other parents who felt and did the same things, made the same mistakes, and learned the same lessons. I feel that What Mothers Do is one of the best kept secrets of our era and now is the time to share that secret with those who need it.

Card Game Review: Bella Sara

When it comes to trading cards my kids have been through most of them. Pokemon? Two boys hooked. Yu-Gi-Oh? All three kids are into those even now. Digimon cards? Yep, we’ve done that too. While my daughter goes with the flow and plays the cards with the boys, I’ve never really found any exciting girl's (or neutral gender yet including the girls more) trading card games. That is until now.

Bella Sara trading cards were created for a girl named Sara by her amazingly talented mother. How great is that? From what I’ve read, Sara, is a horse fanatic and this was her mother’s way of giving her something new and wonderful having to do with horses.

What impressed me almost as much though was this sentence from their About page, "Bella Sara is an imaginative, joyful world of horses, where every girl is special and uniquely beautiful"! WOW, that is so nice to hear in this day and age of BRATZ and ads that aren't exactly healthy for our girls.

Each pack of cards comes with 5 cards and 1 game card. Immediately after opening the card packs sent by Bella Sara they were gone. My daughter is that fast? No, actually it was her and my four year old son who came in and out like tornadoes grabbing the cards! Yes, the youngest boy is immensely hooked on the cards as well.

Bella Sara cards feature horses in all forms- regular horses, magical horses, winged, and even horse hybrids. Not only that but they actually learn about horses as they use the cards. Even better still is the fact that Bella Sara has incorporated their cards into their website in a really neat way!

After buying a pack of the cards (easy to find at Wal-Mart, Target, etc) you can go online to register your horse in your very own virtual stable. Each card has it’s very own authentication code at the bottom that you type in giving you access to the horse and it's fantastic stable. After registering the card you can go to your horse’s stable and do so many things like feed, water, groom, give an apple to, and change the hay for your horse which my kids found to be their favorite parts.

Once you have taken care of your horse it will be ready to play games and explore it’s world. You can play games, read the first chapter of the online Storybook, print Coloring Pages, and tons more! We still haven’t made it through everything on the site and every time we think we’re getting close they add something new!

Since receiving the Bella Sara cards to review I have had to buy four more packs for Sis and MonkeyBoy because they just couldn't wait to have more! Considering that the packs sell here for $1.89 per pack, I'm not complaining.

So if you have a little girl or even a little boy, visit Bella Sara's website and also look for their cards in stores. You won't be sorry and the sparkle these cards put in your child's eye is priceless.

*I have not been paid monetarily by Bella Sara to give this review. My only compensation is being allowed to keep the cards*

EduBook Review: BOB Books

We recently received Set 1 of the BOB Books by Mrs. Bobby Lynn Maslen for our enjoyment and review. The BOB Books are for those children just learning to read and make sense of the sounds of letters. I have heard of the books before but never had the chance to actually take a firsthand look. Now I'm so glad to have had this opportunity because I learned alot about my 4 1/2 year old and how he likes to learn.

What I like about these books is the simplicity that goes back to the "Dick and Jane" books some of us use to read in school. The stories in the BOB Books contain repetitive sounds and words that enable your child to easily memorize them and read them to you no matter where they see or hear the sound or word.

When I opened the first book I was honestly surprised because I expected the usual kiddie story with short words and ended up finding stories that to be honest wouldn't make alot of sense to most adults but were perfect for my little one. I was weary as I read the first book to him but when he started laughing and said "Mat and Sam sat on each other!! MOVE IT!!", I knew he "got" the concept. After reading the book twice he has already learned how to sound out and sight read the word "sat". WOW.

I could only find one thing wrong with the books and that was the lack of color where a color was described. Like the red hen was white and so was the pink pig. This began a whole discussion on why they weren't colored right and how do you know the pig is pink with my son. Nothing gets by that kid I swear!

The BOB Books Set 1 for Beginning Readers includes an Introduction Card, 12 books, and a nifty little box to store them in. The cost of this set of books is fantastic and I know I've spent more on a non-educational book before so you honestly can't beat it. We will be buying the other sets in the near future.

I would recommend these books to anyone with a child ages 3-6 to help with beginning reading. As a homeschooler I've found that is usually the age group that uses books like these and finds the most joy in them.

So check out the BOB Books and while you're doing that please read the Meet The Maslans page on their website. It's a wonderful little story and don't they look like a lovely couple? So much talent in one family too!

EduDVD Review: Time For Manners

Holly Beth Moncher’s "Manners Gang" recently sent us three of their educational DVDs for review and I seriously can’t thank them enough for doing so.

Time for Manners is a DVD geared towards children ages 2 and up that uses the puppet characters Tara and Tyler (twins), Wesley, and the perky half-clock Merlin Manners to teach young children about the use of proper manners. The DVD includes such things as saying "please", "thank you", "excuse me", and inside versus outside voices.

How do they manage to teach this? Simply by using catchy tunes such as “Time For Manners” as well as repetition in their songs and messages so the child can remember/memorize the new skills and be able to use them when appropriate.

Their DVD “Table Time” works along the same lines as it teaches your child how to behave during mealtime, how to have a good conversation, and learn setting the table for meals. The third DVD “American Manners” teaches patriotic concepts like the Pledge of Allegiance, history, and respect for the flag. I’ll be honest and say we only watched a few minutes of it because it’s not really our kind of subject matter. It looks fine though for those who want their kids to learn to be more patriotic.

Do these DVDs work? For my 4 ½ year old the answer is definitely “yes”. The songs, puppet friends, and chance to learn manners appealed to MonkeyBoy immensely. After watching the DVDs only twice he was walking around the house looking for as many opportunities to use his manners as he could find. After two weeks of watching the videos every other day (at his request), his manners have improved greatly. We’ve even started a weekly Good Manners Day where MonkeyBoy can earn stickers to put on his shirt every time one of us catches him using good manners.

If you are having a problem teaching manners to your child then I definitely recommend getting these DVDs. Yes, after awhile the music will get on your adult nerves but the kids love it which means a few quiet minutes for you as they watch.

You can find the Time for Manners, Table Time, and American Manners on their website- Time for Manners website (with free shipping!) along with a few other cute gifts they sell.

*I have not been monetarily paid by Time for Manners to give this review. My only compensation is being allowed to keep the DVDs after writing my review*

Cell Phone Review: Kajeet

When Mom Central and MotherTalk offered to let me review the Kajeet pay-as-you-go cell phone for kids ages 8-14, I was extremely excited. My 13 year old daughter has been wanting a cell phone like all her friends but Mom is a grinch and always says "no". This review seemed like the perfect time to let her explore and find out what cell phones are about. I also figured it would give me a chance to consider getting her one in the near future.

As it turns out, I think I am the only one who reviewed Kajeet that thinks it isn't worth bothering with. Maybe it was just the phone we received (which was the LG-225) because those who received the Sanyo Katana seemed quite happy. All I know is that the phone we got is definitely not something I would have ever paid for. EVER.

I never like to write a negative review and I actually put off doing this review for days hoping to find more good than bad to say but in the end, I just couldn't.

So we were sent the LG-225 flip phone and from the beginning we realized that it wasn't a very good quality phone. The Speakerphone, Customizable contact list with picture ID, ringer ID, and up to five numbers (plus e-mail address) per contact features seem to be fine. The Camera that is also a feature is a whole other deal though.

The camera takes some of the worst pictures I have ever seen on any camera. Every single picture we took came out fuzzy no matter what angle we took it from. Who wants fuzzy pictures? I know I don't like cell phones that take bad pictures and considering how much tweens and teens love taking pictures, why bother if the kids can't see them? It also says you can take up to 100 pictures with the camera yet we couldn't get past 24 so the math is a little off on that one.

This particular phone comes with NO games whatsoever. Yes, you can download a few free ones from the Kajeet site but that leads to my next problem with it...

The Kajeet service has a few great features but there was one HUGE turn off for me which was, before I could even activate the phone I had to give Kajeet my credit card number. I'm sorry but if I buy a pay-as-you-go phone then I definitely do not want to have to give out my credit card information! I understand that it's for the Configurator and Navigator features but still, no thank you. For that hassle I could just add my kids to my own cell phone plan and be done.

Kajeet also charges you a 35 cents per day or $10.50 per month fee whether you're using the phone or not. I'm not sure if this compares well with another phone or notWhat if I ground my daughter from the phone for a month? I'm not paying for what I'm not using when it comes to pay-as-you-go. That's the whole point- paying as I go not they go. Now if you go on vacation somewhere that it won't work they will suspend service for you but what about times like I stated above? Are they going to turn off the phone whenever I ask for whatever reason I ask? Probably not and it's not worth a $10.50 fee every month to me.

I commend Kajeet for the idea they have in place and for the Configurator and Navigator features they have set up. I think it's a concept that could end up working out quite well.

As for the LG-225 phone, it isn't worth the $69.99 they want for it in my opinion and I would never have paid for the phone or the service. We definitely won't be continuing with anything more than what we received to review when it comes to Kajeet.

I'm sorry to Mom Central and Kajeet both for not being able to give a positive review but I would have just been lying to be nice if I had. Thank you though for the opportunity to review this phone and see if it was a good fit for our family. I appreciate that.

*I have not been paid by Mom Central, Mother Talk, or Kajeet to give this review and my only compensation is being allowed to keep the Kajeet phone after writing my review*

Card Game Review: Bella Sara

When it comes to trading cards my kids have been through most of them. Pokemon? Two boys hooked. Yu-Gi-Oh? All three kids are into those even now. Digimon cards? Yep, we’ve done that too. While my daughter goes with the flow and plays the cards with the boys, I’ve never really found any exciting GIRL’S trading card games. That is until now.

Bella Sara trading cards were created for a girl named Sara by her amazingly talented mother. How great is that? From what I’ve read, Sara, is a horse fanatic and this was her mother’s way of giving her something new and wonderful having to do with horses.

What impressed me almost as much though was this sentence from their About page, "Bella Sara is an imaginative, joyful world of horses, where every girl is special and uniquely beautiful"! WOW, that is so nice to hear in this day and age of BRATZ and ads that aren't exactly healthy for our girls.

Each pack of cards comes with 5 cards and 1 game card. Immediately after opening the card packs sent by Bella Sara they were gone. My daughter is that fast? No, actually it was her and my four year old son who came in and out like tornados grabbing the cards! Yes, the youngest boy is immensely hooked on the cards as well.

Bella Sara cards feature horses in all forms- regular horses, magical horses, winged, and even horse hybrids. Not only that but they actually learn about horses as they use the cards. Even better still is the fact that Bella Sara has incorporated their cards into their website in a really neat way!

After buying a pack of the cards (easy to find at Wal-Mart, Target, etc) you can go online to register your horse in your very own virtual stable. Each card has it’s very own authentication code at the bottom that you type in giving you access to the horse and it's fantastic stable. After registering the card you can go to your horse’s stable and do so many things like feed, water, groom, give an apple to, and change the hay for your horse which my kids found to be their favorite parts.

Once you have taken care of your horse it will be ready to play games and explore it’s world. You can play games, read the first chapter of the online Storybook, print Coloring Pages, and tons more! We still haven’t made it through everything on the site and everytime we think we’re getting close they add something new!

Since receiving the Bella Sara cards to review I have had to buy four more packs for Sis and MonkeyBoy because they just couldn't wait to have more! Considering that the packs sell here for $1.89 per pack, I'm not complaining.

So if you have a little girl or even a little boy, visit Bella Sara's website and also look for their cards in stores. You won't be sorry and the sparkle these cards put in your child's eye is priceless.

I'm not even going to bother with "Pros" and "Cons" for this one because we were all in all very happy with it.

*I have not been paid monetarily by Bella Sara to give this review. My only compensation is being allowed to keep the cards after writing my review*

I Know I Know

I didn't do an EduLinks post this week and I apologize. As you can see I've been pretty busy lately BUT I will make it up to you buy posting 10 links this coming Wednesday instead of 5. Trust me, I've got enough to do that much for ya. ;)

Thank you to everyone who reads my weekly posts and I hope you are enjoying the reviews. Here soon I will be having some interviews to go along with a few of them. I have to say that all of the business owners I've talked to thus far have been really great. They are a wonderful group of people.

Have a wonderful weekend my friends.

Game Review: Flip Floggs

This game is one of two sent to us by Grape Games and what a fun company they are. They have dancing grapes on their website, people! No that is fun!

Flip Floggs is a wooden matching memory game with 10 floggs/pieces and symbols on both ends of each piece and a score pad. On your turn you have to flip over two of the Floggs one at a time and if you find a match then you can mark it off on your score sheet.

If you don’t find a pair then make sure you remember where you saw that sailboat or apple because this game is all about your memory. The goal is to find a pair that matches for each symbol. If you do that then you win! My guess is that “Floggs” stands for Fun Logs but don’t take my word for it because I could be wrong.

This game is rated ages 5 and up but once again Lil Man surprised us all. While he didn’t win this time (yay one of us won for once!) he really enjoyed playing and had a ball flipping the Floggs over on his turns. Even after we quit playing he would flip the Floggs just to see what he could come up with. I was honestly surprised that such a simply designed game (wooden pegs and that’s all) held his attention like it did. Obviously the lure is the symbols, he couldn’t resist the symbols. *smile* Even the older two kids have given it a thumbs up!

Pros Of This Game-

* Strengthens memory skills in both young and old alike.

* It’s slightly competitive but more focus is on the fun.
* No reading to make playing hard for younger kids.

* No name brand characters making you feel like a sell out.
* No small game pieces for siblings to swallow (including dice).

* Fun for some kids to even play alone (see above mention of Lil Man).

* They don't use paints or dyes on this product.

Cons Of This Game-

*While the older kids (16 and 13) enjoyed this game they did get bored after the second game. I would say the main group this would appeal to is 4-11 and any adults who will play this with their children.

* The tube the game comes in is somewhat flimsy and in a household with children it will never stand the test of time. The game will last forever but the container is thin plastic.

MY Advice? A stronger lid on the game box/tube or a stronger tube altogether. The container the Floggs came in is a little flimsy. Perfect size but maybe hard plastic would last longer or you could offer a soft pouch for customers to buy to put their Floggs game in.

My honest opinion of this game is that it was fun, playable by ages 4 and up, interesting, and considering that it says the person with the worst memory gets to go first… I was all excited because that meant ME!!

The Grape Bunch (aka Grape Games) has done a good job with Flip Floggs. This game will definitely last longer than the cardboard memory games most of us buy our kids now.

*I have not been paid by Grape Games to give this review and my only compensation is being allowed to keep the games after writing my reviews*

Game Review: Pegs In The Park

Recently JAX Games (also known as Jax LTD Inc) sent my family not one but TEN of their games to have fun with and then give our honest opinions on. Considering the games they sent, they made my job really easy.

As soon as the games arrived, Lil Man went through them and his very first choice was Pegs In The Park.

The rules of this game are really simple- everyone chooses a Peg game piece, each player draws one of 44 cards with a positive or negative number on it during their turn, and then everyone moves their Peg the number the card shows either forward or back on their own path to be the first one to get to the Ice Cream truck in the middle.

Lil Man loved reading the numbers on the cards (which is something new for him) and he really liked competing against the rest of us. Anyone who knows my youngest by now knows the kid won more times than anyone else on this game as well.

Pros Of This Game-

*Teaches number recognition and counting
*No reading to make it hard on younger kids
*No small game pieces for siblings to swallow (including dice)
*Competitive yet fun
*No name brand characters making you feel like a sell out
*Fun for some kids to even play alone (yes mine did that)
*A great addition for teachers or homeschoolers to a Unit Study on Counting, Number Recognition, or even Ice Cream. You could even intigrate it as part of a LapBook or NoteBook (homeschooling lingo)

Cons Of This Game-

*The pieces are a little hard at times for kids to put in the holes due to the fact that the holes are small and spaced close together.

MY Advice? Maybe the company could make bigger bottoms on the game pieces and thus slightly bigger (maybe fewer) holes to put them in. This would make it easier for little hands to find the holes and fit in the pegs.

My honest opinion of this game is that it was fun and definitely educational as well. Jax Games has done well with this game - good price, educational, and entertaining.

Pegs In The Park is available at Amazon and most online board game stores. For more information about this and other games please visit their website.

*I have not been paid by Jax Games to give this review and my only compensation is being allowed to keep the games after writing my review*